Forbidden
by One Girl's Imagination
Summary: Something is up with Kurtis which is putting strain on his relationship with Lara. Plus, jealousy rises when an old friend of Lara's appears out of the blue...Alex. Zip throws Anaya a birthday party which causes sparks to fly between certain people. R&R x
1. Playing games and watching the stars

_**I have scrapped my other story, Forbidden, because I have got a new inspiration. It will still have the same title but this one will be better than the last.**_

'Zip, I'm going to need your help with something.' Lara smiled as she walked over to her trusted friend in the front gardens. The moonlight shone brightly down onto the grass and plants occupying the beautiful scenery.

'Sure, what'd you need?' Zip asked as he turned to face Lara.

'Well, Anaya's birthday is coming up and…' Lara began but was cut off by Zip.

'Let me guess, you need help throwing a party for her here at the manor?'

'Yes.' Lara smiled. Zip laughed before strolling past Lara and heading back into the manor.

'Leave it to me.' He shouted over his shoulder before entering the front doors of Croft manor. Lara sighed a sigh of relief before she noticed a pair of striking blue eyes watching her from the shadows of the manor walls. She knew they belonged to Kurtis Trent.

'You're such a stalker, you know that?' Lara laughed as she sat down on the grass and looked up at the stars before looking back over at where she last saw Kurtis's eyes. To her surprise, there was nothing there. Just the darkness that cascaded there every night. She rolled her eyes as she realised he was playing one of his games…again. Lara decided to play along as she always does. She lay down on the grass and pretended that she had know clue what he was doing. That's when her highly trained ears heard the slightest of shuffling behind her in the bushes. Lara smiled and crawled forward, away from where Kurtis was. Lara suppressed herself from laughing when she heard him scowl in disappointment. Lara knew how to play this game too well. She knew what tricks to pull when he thought that she was totally oblivious to what he was doing.

She was now in the middle of the garden, only surrounded by small rose bushes and exotic plants. There was no way that Kurtis could get to her now without her seeing him or hearing him. Lara knew that he must be hating her for moving right now. She was too happy thinking that she had pulled one over on Kurtis that she didn't hear him come up behind her.

'No mater where you go, I will always get to you without you knowing.' Kurtis whispered into her ear; causing Lara to gasp and jump slightly. She turned on her knees to come face to face with Kurtis.

'Well, I might just have to challenge you on that. Who's to say that you will always succeed?' Lara smirked.

'Because…I always pull one on over you. You of all people would know that.' Kurtis whispered as he drew his face closer to hers. Lara felt her heart quicken.

'And you of all people should know that I play along with your little games. I'm not oblivious to it you know. I'm not that stupid.' Lara laughed before going to kiss him but pulling away at the last second; teasing him. She laughed at the look on his face.

'Looks like _I _pulled one over on _you_ this time.' Lara smiled as she stood up and walked back over to the manor.

'Let this be clear Croft, it won't happen again.' Kurtis tries to sound serious but Lara could see right through him.

'Really? Hmm…we'll have to see about that one.' Lara said over her shoulder before entering her beloved manor.

As soon as she was inside, she saw Zip whizzing away on the computer, as normal.

'Looking for something?' Lara asked as she went over to him.

'Yup, planning for Anaya's party and picking out some decorations from the same site that I used for our last party. They have some real cool stuff.' Zip told her, never taking his eyes of the computer screen. Lara simply nodded before walking over to one of the large windows and looking out to the front gardens. Kurtis was still out there but he was lying down, watching the stars in the clear night sky. Lara smiled before deciding to go join him.

'Something wrong?' Lara asked when she saw the worried look on his face.

'No, just thinking.' Kurtis sighed as he closed his eyes.

'About what?' Lara questioned as she sat down beside him. When she got no answer, Lara lay down and looked up at the night sky herself. _'It's probably nothing, but if it is something, then he'll tell me when he's ready…hopefully.' _Lara thought to herself as she turned her head to look at him. His eyes were still closed. For a moment, she though she thought he was asleep until he rolled over and looked at her. He still looked worried which made Lara worried herself.

'One moment ago you were happy and playing and now you look worried, what's going on?' Lara frowned as she took hold of his hand. Kurtis sighed before shaking his head.

'It's nothing, just something that happened a long time ago.' Kurtis told her half of the story. Lara nodded before smiling at him and turning back to look up at the stars in the blissful night sky.

'If only you knew…' Kurtis whispered the last part so Lara didn't hear. Lara knew that something big was up but she decided that it was best that she didn't interfere this time…well, not just yet anyways.

'Well, I best go and see how Zip is doing.' Lara said as she got to her feet.

'Coming in?' She asked as she looked down at him. Kurtis nodded his head before getting up himself.

--

Once inside, Lara headed straight over to Zip and Kurtis flopped down on one of the sofas.

'How's it coming along?' Lara asked as she peered over Zip's shoulder to look at the computer screen.

'Great, spent a fortune though.' Zip told her.

'Oh well, as long as Anaya likes it, that's all that matters.' Lara said as she looked over to the tired looking Kurtis.

'You know Lara, you're al really good friend.' Zip smiled as he turned to face her.

'Thank-you Zip.' Lara returned his smile before walking over to Kurtis.

'Looks like someone needs to go night-night.' Lara teased as she sat on the sofa opposite him.

'But it's only…' Kurtis began but Lara cut him off.

'Eleven Thrifty, you need some sleep. Go to bed. You've been up since five in the morning. Go. Get some rest.' Lara told him as she got up from the sofa, grabbed hold of his arm and attempted to pull him up from where he was sitting. When he didn't budge, Lara decided that she would have to go for a more hands on approach. She lowered her face to his and brushed her lips across his. She felt him lift up a bit to try and capture her lips but she simply pulled away an inch, teasing him. Lara heard him growl before he pushed himself up off of the sofa to capture her full lips in a passionate kiss. Lara smiled to herself for succeeding.

'And you said that I would never pull one over on you again.' Lara smirked as she broke the kiss. Kurtis just raised an eyebrow at her.

'You didn't want to get up so I teased you to make you get up. I've got you round my little finger.' Lara laughed as she grabbed his hand and promptly dragged him up to his room. Once there, she opened the door and pushed him into his room.

'I'll come back and check on you in ten minutes, if you are not in bed sleeping then you are in big trouble.' Lara attempted to sound serious.

'Yes mom.' Kurtis smirked as he sat down on the bed.

'Good, now goodnight.' She smiled at him before closing the door behind her as she left.

'Who am I kidding, he's not going to go to sleep.' Lara laughed to herself before making her way into her own room to change into something more comfortable.

As soon as she opened the door, she flicked on the lights which immediately lit her huge room. _**(A.N: Think of the room she has in Tomb Raider Legend. It's the same as that.) **_She walked over to the small section in which her wardrobe was kept and took out her light grey baggy pyjama bottoms and tight fitting top along with her long flowing dressing gown. _**(A.N: Think of what Angelina wore in the first Tomb Raider movie when she goes downstairs when she hears the ticking clock.) **_

With that, Lara made her way into her bathroom, let her hair loose and began to comb it in the mirror. Little did she now, she was being watched from the corner of the room.

_**So, what do you think? Should I have kept the other story? I think this one if better though. Tell me what you thought of the first chapter please. **_


	2. Because i care

After fully brushing her long brunette locks, Lara exited the bathroom and back into her room. She looked up at the clock. Ten to midnight. Lara smiled. _'Kurtis should be sleeping away now if he actually listened to me…for once.'_ Lara thought with a smile before turning on her heel and heading for the door. She flicked the lights off before leaving her room and making her way back to the room where Kurtis was staying.

Lara was about to enter the room when a loud crash and laughter caught her attention. She quickly rushed over to the banister and looked down into the main hall. Alistair was standing above a pile of scattered books and a smashed glass. Lara's eyes wondered over to the source of laughter. There stood Kurtis and Zip folded over in laughter.

'You told me that you'd stay in bed.' Lara's voice immediately silenced them. Kurtis looked up to see Lara glaring at him.

'Lara, I thought you knew me better than that.' Kurtis joked as Lara started to slowly make her way down the staircase.

'I do, unfortunately. I know that you can't be trusted most of the time and you never listen to people that actually care for you.' Lara told him as she finally reached the bottom.

'What's gone on here?' Lara asked as she looked over at Alistair and then Zip.

'Well Alistair over here denied that fact the he needed help carrying a glass of water and a pile of books up the stairs. Me and Kurtis offered but he simply said that he could manage it. As you can see, he didn't even make it to the staircase.' Zip informed her before laughing once again. Lara simply rolled her eyes before walking over to Alistair.

'Is that true?' She asked as she helped him pick up the books he had dropped.

'Indeed it is.' Alistair said in embarrassment. Lara couldn't help but laugh.

'Trust you.' She smiled before placing the books, that she had picked up, back into Alistair's arms.

'Now don't drop any.' Lara told him before turning around and making her way over to Kurtis.

'And what's your excuse?' She asked him as she stopped dead in front of him.

'I got bored.' Kurtis smirked.

'Well go be bored in bed. Go!' Lara said as she grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him up the stairs.

'Looks like you got on the wrong side of her.' Zip shouted up to him.

'You're telling me.' Kurtis laughed before Lara roughly threw him into his room. Kurtis stumbled back a bit before looking up to see Lara leaning up again the doorframe.

'What's your problem?' He asked her as he walked over to her. Oh no he was really testing her nerve.

'You're my problem!' Lara yelled as she pushed him back.

'What have I done now?' Kurtis looked at her as though she was a crazy woman with three heads.

'You can be such an idiot sometimes. I'm only trying to do what's best for you but you insist on ignoring what I say. I told you to go to sleep. You've been up since the early morning and you look as tired as anything but just because you got bored, you disobeyed me! Kurtis for god's sake!' Lara shouted as she kicked the door shut behind her.

'Chill Croft! You're not my mother! I'm bloody old enough to do what I want!' Kurtis argued back. Lara simply glared at him before walking over to his bed and pulling the sheets back.

'You see this? This is a bed. Now get over here, get in it, close your eyes and go.to.sleep.' Lara told him in a low and serious voice. Kurtis simply smirked before folding his arms and staying where he was. He knew how to test her last nerve and he loved it.

'Kurtis.' Lara growled.

'Yes?' He asked in an innocent voice. Lara closed her eyes and sighed. _'Why am I even bothering?' _Lara thought to herself before opening her eyes again and heading for the door. Kurtis quickly grabbed hold of her shoulder and twisted her round before she could open the door.

'Lara look, I'm only playing.' Kurtis smiled. Lara placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at him.

'You're playing a game that I don't want to play.' Lara put simply before opening the door and leaving his room.

--

Lara tossed and turned in the sheets of her bed, desperately trying to get to sleep.

'And then there's me telling _him _to get to sleep when I can't even bloody sleep myself.' Lara said to herself as she kicked the sheets back and slipped her legs over to the side of the bed. She let out a sigh before running a hand through her long hair. She looked up at the clock. Quarter to one.

'Well, no pint trying to sleep now.' Lara whispered before pushing herself up and leaving her room. She quietly made her way down the staircase and over to the sofas. She picked up a book that had been left there and read the cover.

'Pandora's Box.' Reading this immediately brought back memories. The box that held so many secrets. The box that she wanted to open so badly but she knew that she couldn't. Lara pushed the memories aside before flipping the book open and proceeding to read.

_**I was going to make the chapter longer than what it is but the rest of my ideas would be perfect for the next chapter. So tell me what you think please. Review.**_


	3. In the gym

_**PLEASE READ:I am SO sorry that I forgot to mention this before but it will be best if you read my other Tomb Raider stories first. They all lead on from one another and this is third in the series. The others are called PartyFun! and Torn Between Two. Much appreciated. As also, I did say that the third would be the movie Mr and Mrs Smith with Lara filling in for Angelina as Jane but I posted three stories but it wasn't working out for me so I decided to go with this idea. Hope you like it.**_

The sound of shuffling made Lara jump up from her slumber. She was lying on the couch with the book open on her chest. She rubbed her eyes before looking around.

'Must have fallen asleep.' Lara whispered before she noticed Winston hobbling about cleaning as per-usual. Lara smiled as he looked over at her before she stretched out along the sofa. It wasn't everyday that she was able to simply lie down without someone or something coming over to bother her.

'Lady Croft, would you care for some breakfast?' Winston asked as he wiped down the coffee table.

'Maybe later thank-you.' Lara told him politely. He nodded before proceeding to go about his duties. Lara sighed before placing the book on the coffee table and curling up into a ball. Her eyelids became heavy as sleep tried to reclaim her. She was drifting to sleep when _BANG!_ Lara jolted up to see Zip burst out of his bedroom door a stretch.

'Hey Lara.' He smiled at her once he noticed her looking up at him from the couch. With that, he made his was down the staircase and into the kitchen to grab some breakfast.

'Next time, try not to be so noisy.' Lara called after him before turning over and snuggling into the couch.

'Will do Lara.' She heard Zip call before a serious of clanging and other sounds interrupted her sleep once again. Lara let out a growl before rolling off the sofa and onto her hands and knees. She slowly pushed herself up and let out a yawn. Lara knew that she wasn't going to get any more sleep so there was no point even attempting…especially not with Zip around anyways. Lara looked down at herself and realised that she was still in her pyjamas and flowing night gown. She was comfy so opted to stay in it for a little while longer.

'Best to get some breakfast then.' She told herself before walking over to the kitchen. As she entered, she saw Zip at the cooker and Winston organising the spices on the shelf. Lara immediately went straight for the fridge and pulled out a breakfast smoothie.

'Won't cha be needin' a bit more than that Lara?' Zip raised an eyebrow at her as she leaned up against the counter, drinking her smoothie. Lara simply looked at him and shook her head. She quickly gulped down the rest of the smoothie before tossing it into the rubbish bin and sitting down at the table. Upon seeing her there, Winston immediately picked up his signature silver tray and waltzed over to her.

'Would you care for a cup of tea?' Winston asked as he drew closer to the Lady of the manor. Lara gladly accepted. She placed the freshly brewed cup of tea onto a drink coaster.

--

An hour later, Lara found herself back in her bedroom. She immediately headed over to her wardrobe. Pulling out some black shorts, a tight fitting black top and her signature boots, Lara proceeded to get changed.

Once ready, Lara entered the bathroom but suddenly felt uneasy; as though she was being watched. Lara quickly spun round and looked around the room. Something in the corner of the ceiling caught her attention. She hopped into the edge of her huge bath and looked closer at the small circular object. She immediately recognised it as a mini camera. Lara grimaced at the thought of some psycho watching her at the other end of the camera but she couldn't help but wonder who put it there…and why. She attempted to pick it off of the wall but had no luck. Lara simply sighed before deciding to leave it until later when she would get a better look at it.

Walking over to the mirror, Lara proceeded to brush her long hair before tying it back in her signature plait. Quickly washing her face and brushing her teeth, she made her way down to the gym.

--

Lara was half was up the climbing wall when the traps triggered. Zip had installed them when she was off on one of her adventures. She smiled as she jumped backwards to avoid being sliced in half and immediately grabbed onto the ledge behind her. Sliding blades caught her attention so she quickly pulled herself up onto the ledge and ran to the other side. Lara quickly looked down before leaping down onto another ledge, she had estimated the jump wrong but luckily she had managed to grab hold of the edge just in time. Her left hand slipped but she managed to lift herself up anyways. Clinging into the level that hung from the wall, she pulled it down causing the wall to slide backwards and reveal secret #1. It was a small gold elephant. As Lara reached to grab it, the floor beneath her began to crumble. Lara cursed as she was not quick enough to grab the fake artefact and fell along with the rest of the rock. 'Ah!' Lara gritted her teeth as she hit the blue safety mat at the bottom.

'Failed at getting the first one but there are three others. Let's do this.' Lara told herself before jumping to her feet and diving into the small pool. She pulled the underwater level down and quickly resurfaced. She looked up to see two of the ledges lower. Lara smiled before pulling herself out of the pool and running over to one of the ropes. Quickly grabbing hold of it and pulling herself up, she leapt backwards and grabbed hold of one of the wall ledges. Shimmying along, she finally reached the monkey bars. Leaping backwards and twisting midair, she grabbed hold of the monkey bars. She felt her grip slip slightly so she hurried along the bars before she slipped. Placing her feet on a wooden block, she made a running jump onto a swinging block. She heard a grinding sound beneath her. Lara knew she had to think quickly. She quickly studied her surroundings before her eyes lay upon a bar. Jumping forwards, she narrowly grabbed hold of it before looking back over her shoulder. A set of spikes jumped up from where she was last standing.

'That was too close for comfort.' Lara gasped before swinging her legs back and forth until she was acrobatically performing stunts on the bar. She smiled to herself before letting go and flying forwards. Lara steadily landed on the ledge in front of her. Breathing deeply, she grabbed hold of the ledge above her before leaping up and grabbing hold of another ledge. Luckily she had remembered to lower these ledges otherwise she would have had to start all over again…something she _really didn't _want to do.

Shimmying sideways, she finally reached her second destination. Letting go of the ledge and falling down to the one beneath her, she quickly grabbed hold of the second fake artefact just as the ledge began to crumble. Lara knew that she didn't want to fall again so she jumped backwards and grabbed hold of a swinging trapeze. She couldn't get to the third artefact from there so she steadied herself and dropped to the floor. She gracefully landed and rolled to finish. Lara looked at her sore hands before opting to leave the third one until later.

Making her way over to the pool, she slowly dipped in and sunk under, letting the cool water refresh her. Resurfacing, she pulled herself out to come face to face with none other than Kurtis. Lara didn't know what to do or what to say. The two simply stared at each other before Kurtis broke the uncomfortable silence.

'Look, Lara…last night I thought about what you had said and I'm sorry for what went on.' Kurtis told her as he took hold of her hands.

'It's alright. I only want what's best for you and I know that I can get ratty sometimes so I'm sorry too.' Lara smiled at him before pulling her hands from his and walking over to the mini fridge and pulling out and ice cold water.

'By the way, what you just did was pretty impressive.' Kurtis told her as he leant up against one of the walls. Lara simply looked at him as she sipped at her bottled drink.

'But you should be more careful. I saw you fall. I don't think you would want that happening in the field would you?'

'Nope.' Lara put as she finished off her drink. Her muscles were tense from that intense workout which bugged Lara. She didn't like being all tensed up, it was really uncomfortable.

'Well, I'm heading to the shower.' Lara said as she passed him and left the gym. Kurtis followed her back into the main hall before walking over to Zip who was obviously playing some sort of computer game.

Lara quickly ran up the stairs before entering her room and into the bathroom. That's when she remembered the camera on the wall.

'I am _not _showering with that thing watching me.' Lara whispered to herself.

'Now what?' Lara asked aloud. She signed before looking around the bathroom. Her eyes fell upon her toothpaste. She smiled as an idea crept into her mind. Walking over to the sink and picking up the toothpaste, she made her way over to the bath, stepped onto it and squeezed some toothpaste out and into the mini camera. Happy with herself, Lara jumped down off of the tub, placed the toothpaste back down by the sink before stripping herself of the sweaty clothes that were sticking to her body. Turning the shower on, she stepped in and let the hot water run down her body, loosening her muscle and letting her relax.

_**Two chapters in one day, I hope you liked this one. More activity for Lara here. Please review. How am I meant to know if I'm doing a good job or not? Not one person has reviewed yet and loads of people have viewed this story. How am I supposed to know if you like it? Please review, it won't take you 5 minutes. **_


	4. Africa holds many suprises

After about spending at least twenty minutes in the shower, Lara switched the water off and wrapped a towel around her slender form. She felt much more relaxed and relieved. Quickly stepping out of the shower, she made her way into her room.

'What to wear, what to wear?' Lara asked allowed as she walked over to the wardrobe. Lara was about to pull out some combat trousers when her PDA started buzzing. Lara picked it up off of the table next to her bed and switched it on. It read: **AFRICA! **Lara raised an eyebrow before Anaya's name appeared on the screen.

'Anaya?' Lara asked aloud before sitting down on her bed. She frowned as she wondered why Anaya was trying to contact her.

'Africa?' She wondered allowed before taking out her mobile phone and calling Anaya. The phone rung a few seconds before Anaya answered.

'Lara, is that you?'

'Yes, is everything okay?'

'No, things couldn't be any worse.' Anaya spoke in a hushed voice which worried Lara.

'Anaya, what is going on?' Lara was nothing but serious now.

'I don't know, all I know is that we are being held captive in a small village in Africa. I am hiding at the moment. I'm too scared to move.'

'It'll be okay. Just stay where you are. Have you heard anything?'

'Yes, I have heard screams, gunfire, laughing, talking in another language I do not understand and it appears that some of the locals are being slaughtered.'

'Any idea why?'

'Not a clue.'

'Alright, just stay where you are, I'm on my way.' Lara told her before she hung up. She rushed over to her wardrobe before pulling out her signature shorts, top and boots. Quickly drying herself off and changing. Lara slipped her backpack onto her back, slid her utility belt on, attached everything necessary and headed out of the bedroom.

--

'Zip, I'm going to Africa. Anaya's in trouble and so are the locals.' Lara informed him as she walked over to where he sat playing video games with Kurtis.

'Okay, take your headset and this tracking device.' Zip gave her the items as he got up out of the chair and made his way over to one of the drawers.

'Tracking device?' Lara raised an eyebrow as she attached it to her belt.

'Just in case you know. I think you know how many times we have almost lost you. With this, at least we'll be able to find you if you do decide to go and disappear on us.' Zip smiled at her as she walked over with a set of keys in his hand.

'For your Norton Streetfighter.' He told her as he handed her the keys to her beloved motorbike.

'Thank-you. I'm not sure when I'll be back so be good. I don't want to come home to the manor in a wreck.' Lara smiled over her shoulder as she headed for the garage.

'Lara, should you be going alone?' Kurtis asked as he ran over to her.

'Worried are we?' Lara smirked.

'Well I don't want you coming back dead or badly injured.' Kurtis said as he finally reached her.

'I'll be fine. Trust me. See you later.' Lara reassured him before making her way past him and into the garage. She looked back at Kurtis one last time before shutting the door and making her way over to her Streetfighter motorbike. Running her hand across the handlebars, she quickly mounted the bike, started it up and raced out of the garage. Quickly turning on her headset, she called Mitchell.

'Hello?' She heard her good friend ask.

'Mitchell! Hello. I'll be needing a favour from you.' Lara got straight to the point.

'Ah Lara! How lovely it is to hear your voice again! Now, what is it you need?'

'A helicopter, and a fast one too.'

'Where would you like me to send it? Croft Manor?'

'No no, drop it off at the airport. I'll be needing it as soon as I get there. Okay?'

'Got it Lara. I'll send my best helicopter and my best men. Where will you be going?'

'Africa.'

'Okay, take care of yourself now.'

'You too.' And with that, Lara continued on her journey to the airport.

--

Lara had made it in once piece to the airport. She jumped off her bike before hearing the sound of propellers. Lara smiled to herself before making her way around the side of the extremely busy airport and onto the side fields. And there was the helicopter just as Mitchell had promised her.

'Mitch, you never let me down.' Lara said allowed before jogging over to the helicopter. Lara quickly stepped up into the helicopter to be met but three men.

'Miss Croft, how nice to see you again.' The one man shouted over the noise and smiled at her. Lara returned him smile before stepping into the back of the Helicopter and strapping herself in. She waited for the other men to be seated until she nodded to the pilot. With that, Lara was on her way to Africa.

--

The journey was long and boring but all Lara could think about was Anaya. She slumped back in her seat before she realised that they helicopter was slowly landing. She looked out the side of the helicopter to see fleeing animals, trees and a whole lot of grass. Lara knew that she had to hurry so she quickly unstrapped herself and made her way to the front of the Helicopter.

'No need to land! I'm in a hurry! Thank-you!' Lara shouted over the noise. The pilot simply nodded before Lara ran and jumped out of the helicopter. She landed on her knees and fell forward slightly. Lara pushed herself up to her feet and looked back up at the helicopter. She waved at the pilot, who waved back, before taking out her PDA and tracking the location that Anaya was in. Lara then took off in the direction of the small village where Anaya and the locals were being held captive.

--

After about ten minutes of running, Lara heard the sound of a truck. She looked back to see a dark blue truck heading up the sandy road and to, what she guessed, was the village. She hid behind a near by tree as it drew closer. That's when an idea came to mind. As the truck passed, Lara jumped forward and grabbed hold of the back of the truck. She clung on for dear life before carefully stepping to her right so she could look to see where they were going. Lara was too concentrated on figuring out what was going on that she didn't notice the driver looking at her in the mirror.

'Wha?!' The driver yelled causing Lara to come back to reality. She gasped when she saw the driver staring intently at her. Lara quickly stepped to her left and heard one of the doors open. _'He must have more men in there.' _Lara thought to herself before the sound of shuffling made its way into her ears. Someone was after her. Thinking quickly, she made a death jump upwards and caught hold of the edge. If she had missed, she would have been rolling down the sandy road, something she didn't fancy doing at the moment. Quickly pulling herself up, she lay flat on top of the truck before rolling over and looking over the side of the truck. She saw a man slowly making his way to the back of the truck with an M16 on his back.

'Special forces.' Lara whispered upon looking at the deadly weapon. Lara crawled over to the other side of the truck and looked over the side. She saw another man with the same weapon. They were both wearing mercenary outfits with dark blue helmets. Lara crawled back into the middle of the truck before lying on her stomach. She didn't fancy being falling off.

'Zip? Are you getting any of this?' Lara asked into her headset.

'Yep, seeing and hearing everything that you are back here Lara.'

'Hopefully this truck will take me to the village where Anaya is. I do hope that she is okay.'

'She'll be fine Lara. Now, how do you plan to save Anaya and the locals?' Zip asked.

'I guess I'm just going to have to make it up as I go along.' Lara sighed before a village came into view.

'Think that's where Anaya is?'

'Well, that's where the trucks going so I guess so.'

'Good luck Lara.'

'Now Zip, you know I don't need luck. I have you guys.' Lara smiled. She heard Zip laugh before she heard Alistair tune in.

'Zip is right Lara, you're going into what looks like a heavily guarded village. Do be careful.'

'I have done worse. I'll be in and out…once I have blown everyone's head off.' She heard Zip and Kurtis burst out laughing and Alistair whine on about something. Lara was too busy focusing on the upcoming village to listen to what he was saying. As the truck drew closer, Lara lay flat down on her stomach before she heard a clanging noise behind her. She turned to look over her shoulder to see one of the mercenaries climbing up on top of the truck. Lara growled before pulling out her pistol and firing at him. She heard him yell out in pain before he fell backwards. His little friend must have been helping him up because Lara saw them both lying flat on the sandy road. Lara frowned before lying back on her stomach again. That's when the truck began to slow down. She heard a set of gates open and a few voices. She couldn't make out what they were saying, all she heard was someone climbing in the truck. No, it wasn't in, it was climbing into the truck. Lara cursed before rolling to her right and looking down. Bushes stared back up at her. She quickly rolled off the truck and fell into the bushes. Luckily, she hadn't been heard.

'Now that's luckily.' She heard Alistair say before Zip butted in.

'Go Lara!' Lara smiled before pulling a few leaves out of the way so that she could see what was going on. She looked up at the truck to see a man looking down at the truck driver and shrugging his shoulders.

'She must be dead. You have nothing to worry about, now come on.' Lara looked over to see another man walking over.

'At least one of them speaks English.' Zip said.

'Yes but I don't think I quite frankly want to talk to him first hand.' Lara whispered as she eyed the man. He was in a crystal white suit. He had pitch black spiked up hair, tanned skin and striking green eyes. Lara hated to admit it but he was indeed very good looking. Lara mentally slapped herself for thinking such thoughts. _'No fraternising with the enemy!' _She thought to herself before watching the truck make its way into the village. Quickly crawling out of the bushes she made her way silently into the village and hid behind one of the closest huts.

'Lara, this looks too dangerous.' She heard Kurtis tell her.

'Kurtis, will you please stop worrying. I'll be fine.' Lara whispered before she was hit in the back. She yelled out before turning on her heel and pulling out her pistols, reading to fire at whatever means necessary.

'Lara? Lara Croft?' She stared into the eyes of someone she knew all to well. Alex West.

'Alex?' Lara gasped.

'Lara? What are doing here?' Alex asked as he lowered him gun and took a step closer to her. Lara quickly took one step back and kept her weapons drawn.

'More importantly, what are _you _doing here?' Lara frowned.

'Working.' Alex but simply.

'Lara, what's going on?' She heard Zip ask. Lara ignored him before choosing to lower her own guns.

'Working? You call this a job? Killing people? Keeping the locals captive? My friend is here. That's why I'm here. I need to rescue her and put a stop to whatever is going on.' Lara told him as she placed her guns back into her holsters.

'Well I'm sorry Lara put I can't allow you to do that.' Alex frowned as he quickly pulled out his handgun and aimed it at Lara.

'Are you really going to shoot me Alex?' Lara smirked.

'Well, it's in the job description. Shoot whoever you need to.' Alex told her as he squeezed the trigger slightly.

'Alex, before you decide to be an idiot and kill me, tell me what's going on here.' Lara said as she looked Alex straight in the eye.

'Why should I?' Alex growled.

'Because I saved your life once. I had to bend time and space to do it but I saved you. I think you should repay the favour.' Lara told him with a smile. Alex simply sighed before running a hand through his hair.

'Look, I'm not entirely sure what is going on here, all I know is that I need to keep intruders out and make sure everything runs as it should be.' Alex informed her before taking another step closer and pressing the gun to her stomach.

'Now, tell me…do you honestly think that you're going to get past me?' Alex smirked as he grabbed hold of her shoulder and pushed her up against the hut.

'Lara! I told you that you should have let me come!' She heard Kurtis yell. Lara rolled her eyes before looking back at Alex.

'If you were going to kill me, then you would have already done it by now.' Lara smirked.

'Don't push it Croft. I may not kill you but I know a few guys that will kill you without blinking an eyelid.' Alex warned.

'But you won' t let them will you?' Lara shot back. Alex simply groaned before pressing the gun harder into her stomach.

'Look, I can pull the trigger any time Croft.'

'Yes, you can but you won't. You didn't last time. Face it Alex, you can't me and you won't let anyone else.' Lara winked at him before raising her hand and placing it on his gun. She slowly pushed it away from her before grabbing hold of Alex's shoulder and forcing him backwards.

'I may not kill you now but I'm not letting you go.' Alex growled as he caught hold of her right arm and pulled her into him.

'You don't have it in you Alex. I know you don't.'

'Then why did you call me a traitor?'

'Because you betrayed me.'

'Who's to say that I won't do it again.'

'I stopped you last time and I can do it again.' Lara told him, thinking back on the past memory. The Triangle of Light. The mere memory of remembering what happened brought tears to her eyes. That was the last time she ever got to see her Father. She clenched her hands together and fought back the tears before looking back at Alex.

'You know, eventually they are going to find you with me and question you about why I haven't been killed. Then the chances are that you're going to get killed for not killing me.' Lara smirked.

'That's not going to happen because I'm going to lock you up some place so you can't interfere with this.'

'Oh face it Alex, you know that wherever you put me, I'll escape.' Lara couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face.

'You always did have something to say for yourself now didn't you.'

'And you were always a sheep. Going along with anything.' Lara shot back. Alex growled before dragging her towards an empty hut and entering it.

'Lara look! I am not letting you ruin this!' Alex yelled as she cornered her in the small room.

'I'm not ruining it, I'm stopping it and saving these poor people and my friend!' Lara said in a low and deadly voice.

'Well I can't let you do that Lara.' Alex said as he yanked her towards him.

'I hate you so much right now.' Lara spat.

'Same here!' Alex yelled before quickly catching her lips in a heated and rough kiss. Lara heard the lads all gasp before Kurtis hit the roof. She payed no attention and simply closed her eyes and clawed at Alex's back.

'I hate you.' Alex growled as he broke the kiss before smashing his lips back onto hers once again.

_**A long chapter. Phew, that took some time. Not even ONE PERSON has reviewed yet and I'm getting really ticked off. People are reading this story and not reviewing. How the bloody hell am I meant to know if you like it or not. Please review. I take my time to write these chapters and you aren't even reviewing. Thanks a lot guys… **_


	5. Saving Anaya

_**Thanks to xXGuidingLightXx and Leopardgecko96 for reviewing. It's nice to know that people are enjoying my story so I hope that you enjoy this chapter. **_

'Alex, this is wrong.' Lara whispered as she attempted to break the kiss with Alex. Finally succeeding, Lara quickly looked away and sighed.

'Lara listen…' Alex began but Lara cut him off.

'No, you listen for once.' Lara growled as she drew her pistols and pointed them straight at him.

'Whoa, one minute you're all over me and then trying to kill me. Still the same old Lara.' Alex smirked.

'All over you? I believe that it was you that came onto me? Plus, I'm not trying to kill you…yet. Look, that was just a mistake. Nothing more and nothing less. It meant nothing.' Lara told him but she hoped that Kurtis got the message too.

'Everything we do _always _seems to be a mistake to you. Why can't you just accept it? We do what we do…which doesn't make it a mistake. It wouldn't have happened otherwise.' Alex told her as he pushed her weapons to the side.

'Alex, things have changed between us.' Lara sighed before taking a step forwards and holding one of her guns to the side of his head.

'Now I highly suggest that you keep out of my way otherwise I'll have no other choice.' Lara warned him before holstering her weapons and walking over to the hut door.

'Lara, why are you doing this? Just save your friend and get out of here.' Alex asked. Lara simply looked at him before opening the door slightly to look out. Seeing that everything was clear, she quickly turned back to Alex.

'Innocent people are dying here Alex. I need to find out why and put a stop to it. Plus, if I don't hurry, Anaya could be next.' Lara put simply before bursting out of the door.

'Lara, wait!' She heard Alex call after her. Lara knew that she couldn't waste anymore time so she opted to ignore him and made her way over to another hut and made her way behind it. She could hear people inside. Lara pressed her ear against the hut to try and hear what was being said but to no avail. Sighing, Lara looked to her left to see Alex approaching.

'Give it a break Alex.' Lara whispered, hoping that he had heard her.

'Lara, I cannot let you carry on with this.' Alex told her as he took out some sort of communicator.

'You wouldn't.' Lara gasped. Alex winked at her before speaking into the communicator.

'This is Alex, we have an intruder on the left side.' Alex smirked as he spoke. Lara just stared wide-eyed at him.

'You haven't changed at all.' Lara gasped.

'You don't know me.' Alex growled. That's when Lara realised something.

'Wait, we're on the right. You told them on the left.' Lara raised an eyebrow at him.

'No need to thank me.' Alex smiled. Lara laughed before she heard gun shots and people yelling commands. She knew that Alex's plan had worked. They had all gone over to the left side to get the intruder.

'But wait, they'll kill you after all of this.' Lara said as she walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

'They can't kill me if they can't find me.' Alex smirked. Lara smiled before turning on her heel and heading off to find Anaya and the rest of the captive villagers.

'Lara, let me help you.' She heard Alex call from behind her. Lara quickly looked back over her shoulder before nodding quickly. Alex soon caught up with her as the two started the search for Anaya.

--

It had been fifteen minutes before Lara and Alex came across some strapped up locals. Alex quickly freed them before telling them to head for the front gate and run as fast as they could and hide whilst Lara rang Anaya.

'Lara? Where are you?' Anaya spoke almost immediately as she answered the phone.

'In the village, do you know where you are?' Lara asked.

'Yes, I am in the hut on the left hand side by the large green tank.' Anaya whispered to her.

'Alright. Stay there, I'm on my way.' Lara told her before hanging up. _'Great, she has to be on the left hand side. Exactly where everyone else is. Bugger.' _Lara thought to herself before frowning.

'So, where is she?' Alex asked.

'In the worst possible place.' Lara sighed. Alex immediately knew where she was on about.

'I can call them away. Tell them that you are somewhere else.' Alex offered as he took out his communicator.

'No, they'll suspect too much. That's the last thing that we want to happen.' Lara told him. The two then proceeded to make their way over to the left hand side of the village without being caught but from experience, Lara knew that this task would be almost impossible if the numbers were too big.

'Alex, exactly how many mercenaries are there?' Lara asked as she and Alex hid behind a near by tree.

'I would estimate about…400. Maybe more.' Alex shrugged. Lara just looked at him as though she thought that he was joking. The seriousness on his face told her otherwise.

'Oh bloody hell. This is just perfect.' Lara said sarcastically before she heard two men heading their way. She put a finger to her lips to signal Alex to be quite. He nodded before Lara took out once of her guns and slowly looked out from behind the tree. They seemed to be hunting for something, probably her. Lara quickly aimed her weapon at them before shooting. She then quickly hid back behind the tree and looked at Alex. After hearing nothing, Lara knew that she had killed them and moved from their hiding place.

'Alex, stay here.' Lara whispered to him before rolling over to a near by tent.

'Lara, are you crazy? You can't take on everyone by yourself.' Alex frowned.

'Exactly, that's why I need you here. Just in case things get out of hand, I need to be ready for when I escape with Anaya or Anaya comes out by herself.' Lara told him.

'By herself? Lara…' Alex sighed.

'We have to think of the possibilities here Alex. Plus, if you think it's absolutely necessary, call them away. I'm going to need as much cover as I can get. I can't afford for Anaya to get hurt.' Lara informed him before searching her surroundings. She spotted a green tent in the distance and took off in that direction.

'Lara, one of these days your courage is going to get you killed.' Alex laughed as he slid down the tree and sat down; reading to help Lara at whatever costs.

--

Lara silently approached the green tent and listened for any noise. Luckily, nothing was heard so Lara proceeded to look for the closest hut that Anaya would probably be in. After looking and seeing that there were over six different huts and buzzing about mercenaries…Lara felt like yelling out. She just wanted this to be a quick and easy task but in the world of Tomb Raiding and helping out people, nothing was ever quick. Running and entering the first hut, Lara quickly searched and called Anaya. Unfortunately Lara got no answer. She was about to exit when she heard shuffling behind her. Lara spun on her heel and pulled out her weapons; aiming them straight forward. Lara let out a sigh of relief when she saw Anaya crawl out from her hiding space.

'Lara.' Anaya smiled as she ran up to hug her.

'Glad to see that you're okay but why didn't you answer me?' Lara asked as the two stepped back.

'I heard someone outside the hut so chose not to speak but now we are okay. Come on, we need to get out of here.' Anaya said as she crept out of the hut. Lara quickly grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her back.

'Let me go first, I'm the one with weapons here. Besides, I can't have you dead, your birthday's coming up.' Lara smiled before stepping forward and looking out. Seeing that everything was clear, Lara signalled for Anaya to follow. The two made their way behind the green tent.

'How are you planning on getting us out of here?' Anaya asked as she watched Lara take out her PDA.

'I'm going to wing it.' Lara smiled at her before a map appeared on her PDA.

'Okay, we have got quite some distance to travel before we reach the gates. No problem.' Lara said as she placed her PDA back onto her utility belt.

'As long as you know what you're doing…' Anaya whispered.

'Ever known me known not knowing what I'm doing?' Lara smirked.

'Uhh, yes.' Anaya told her. Lara simply smiled and shook her head.

'She's right Lara.' Came Zip's voice.

'Oh, you haven't disappeared on me then.' Lara said into her headset.

'Could we ever leave you?' She heard Zip laugh. Lara smiled before answering.

'I hope not.' Lara told him before grabbing hold of Anaya's arm and dragging her from behind the tent.

'Winging it?' Anaya asked as he and Lara dived into a bush.

'As always.' Lara said before crawling through the bushes. She was stopped in her tracks when she heard footsteps. She looked back at Anaya and shook her head. That's when she slowly and quietly took out one of her guns and pulled away some of the branches. _'Great, just where I wanted to go next.' _Lara thought to herself before aiming her pistol at the mercenary. Lara was about to shoot but Kurtis interrupted her thought.

'_Lara?' _She heard him inside her head.

'_What? Can't you see that I'm a little busy?' _She thought back.

'_Yes but I need to talk to you.' _Kurtis replied.

'_Well you picked a great time didn't you.' _Lara thought sarcastically.

'_I'm sorry but I think that this needs to be said now.' _

'_Well it's going to have to wait.' _Lara thought back before shutting of the telepathic conversation and shooting her desired target.

'Run!' She yelled to Anaya as they both jumped out of the bush and into the hut. Lara pressed herself up against the wall as she heard many shouts and footsteps.

'Anaya, I need you to make your way over to the right side. An old friend is over there. His name's Alex. Stay with him and keep yourself out of danger. I need to do this alone.' Lara whispered to her before looking out of the window.

'Lara, I can't just leave you.' Anaya told her.

'Look, I need you to be safe and you can't do anything with what I'm going into now. I need to do this alone.' Lara put before aiming her weapon at the gathered mercenaries. They were gathered around the guy that Lara had just killed.

'It's the intruder! They're around here somewhere! Find them and kill them!' She heard on of the shout. Lara quickly looked back at Anaya.

'I'm clearing the way for you.' She told her before diving out of the window. Jumping to her feet, Lara fired at the group of men. Anaya quickly ran out of the hut and ran in the direction Lara had told her to. Lara continued to fire until all of them fell down dead.

'That's the way to go Lara!' She heard Zip cheer.

'I don't do it any other way.' Lara smiled before taking off again.

'Where exactly are you going?' She heard Alistair ask.

'I have no idea. I know that I need to put a stop to this thing and fast.' Lara told them.

'Be careful Lara, you heard what Alex said.' Zip warned.

'I know. That's why I'm going to need silence. I'm going to need no distractions please lads.' Lara told them before stopping outside another hut. Lara knew it was pointless to hide so she stayed close to the wall and slid round until more mercenaries came into view. Judging the statistics, Lara jumped out and fired at will. The mercenaries began to fire back and a couple of bullets hit her shoulder and legs. Gritting her teeth, she ran forward, jumped up at kicked the one down as she empted her bullets into the other mercenaries. As to not waste time, she never bothered to check if they were dead, she simply sprinted off.

--

Lara had been running around, hiding and shooting down enemies for the past twenty minutes and still hadn't got a clue what was going on. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she looked around for any clue of what was going on. She growled in frustration when she heard more screams and gunshots.

'I don't know what to do! Innocent people are getting killed here and I don't have the slightest clue what's happening or where I should go to next!' Lara snapped.

'You Lara, chill. We'll figure it out somehow.' She heard Zip attempt to calm her down.

'If we were going to figure it out then we would have done that by now.' Lara shot back. Lara ignored that rest of the comments that were shot back at her and casually walked out from where she was. She was now in range of anyone who wanted to shoot her and could be seen from the other end of the village.

'Lara! What the hell are you doing?!' Zip yelled.

'Figuring that I want to know what's going on, it's best if I get captured so then I can…' Lara wasn't able to finish as she felt like two needles go into her back sharply. She yelled out in pain as she fell forwards. Lara felt as though she was spinning before she blacked out.

_**I seriously wanted to carry on with this but wanted to see what you guys thought of the way I'm going with it first so please review and tell me if you like it or not.**_


	6. Just shutup! I'm sick of this!

_**I would personally like to thank Leopardgecko96 and Quazety for reviewing to this story. So, on with the next chapter. By the way, Quazety, I replied to your review so please check that out.**_

Lara groaned as she struggled to open her eyes. Sleepily opening her eyes, she was greeted by a pain in her back and blurred vision. It took her a few moments to come to her senses before she realised that she was strapped to a chair with a gag around her mouth. _'Perfect.'_ Lara thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. Ignoring the pain in her back, she struggled against the bindings. After a few attempts, Lara decided to give up.

'Lara? Can you hear me?' She heard Zip through the headset. Lara tried talking but to now avail. Sighing, Lara nodded her head so that Zip could hopefully see that she could hear him and that she was awake. _'Well, at least you're inside.'_ Lara thought to herself as she studies the room she was in. It wasn't a room at all; it was that green tent that she and Anaya had hid behind. Looking to her right she saw a few sleeping bags and a mini fridge. To her left she saw what looked like the remains of left over food and drink.

'Gross!' She heard Zip yell. Lara smiled slightly before attempting to pull herself out of the restraints once again.

'There's no point trying Miss Croft, you will not escape.' Lara's head shot up to the man standing in front of her. It was the man in the white suit. _'He's even better looking up close…no! Stop it Lara. First Alex and then this! What's going on?' _Lara thought angrily to herself.

'_What was that?' _She heard Kurtis ask in a low voice inside her head. Yet, another telepathic conversation.

'_Nothing.'_ Lara put simply before waiting his reply.

_It sure sounded like a whole lotta nothing Lara. As you said, first Alex and now…' _Kurtis started but Lara cut him off.

'_Kurtis…just shut-up and leave me alone! Do you always listen to what I'm thinking? What is wrong with you?' _Lara sighed as she thought the last thing.

'Miss Croft, would you like to tell me what you are doing here?' The man asked as he grabbed a chair and set it in front of her and sat down; looking at her straight in the eye. Collecting all her left over energy, Lara brought herself to talk.

'Saving my friend and the people you have got held hostage.' Lara told him. The man simply laughed.

'You see Croft, this village holds a very valuable artefacts, one that the villagers worship. It is rumoured that whoever possess the object and opens it will have unlimited power. Just think of what people could do with that.'

'And you want it for yourself?'

'Well what guy wouldn't? Think about it, who's to say that you don't want it. That's why you really came here. Who knows what's going on inside your head at the moment.

'Somebody does and it gets rather annoying.' Lara blurted out.

'A telepath by any chance?'

'A what?' Lara tried to sound as though she had no idea what he was on about.

'Drop the act Lara; I know almost everything about you. That's why I was hoping that you would show up.' Lara looked at him as though he had just turned red and blew up.

'Excuse me?' Lara chocked.

'World famous adventurer Lara Croft. Archaeologist, Lady of Croft Manor, holder of priceless artefacts and jewels…' the man trailed on and on.

'Okay! I get it.' Lara growled. That's when the guy stood up and knelt down in front of her.

'I can't have you ruining this. So I suggest that you be a good girl a stay here, I'll deal with you after.' With that, he stroked Lara's cheek before reaching round the back of the chair and somewhat loosening one of the ropes around her wrist before standing up and walking out of the tent and yelling out orders. To her surprise, he didn't tell anyone to watch over her. _'Does he want me to escape?' _Lara thought as she raised her eyebrows. Quickly leaning forward, she easily slipped her hands out of the bindings.

'Lara, what's going on? Why did that guy just let you go?' Zip asked.

'I don't know. I think he just did. Can I ask, Zip, are you the only on there?' Lara questioned as she poked her head out of the tent and checked her surroundings.

'No, the other two are just focused on the screen, watching what you see.' Zip replied.

'Alright.' Lara breathed before slowly stepping out of the tent. _'But I can't help but wonder what they shot me with.' _Lara thought to herself, as she thought about the previous event. Once again making sure that everything was clear, she made a straight bee-line for where Anaya and Alex should have been.

--

After dodging and taking out some of the mercenaries, Lara managed to make her way back to the tree to find no Alex and no Anaya.

'Bloody hell.' Lara cursed as she slammed her fist into the tree causing the pain in her back in increase.

'Chill Lara, I'm sure that they went to find some cover.' Zip attempted to calm her down…as he normally did.

'I don't want to be looking for them!' Lara yelled.

'Lara, I would keep it quiet.' Zip warned her. Lara growled before taking off her headset and looking into the camera on it knowing that they could see her back at the manor.

'Look, I don't care what you say anymore, I want to get out of here with my friends alive. I don't care about the others anymore. I am not wasting anymore time here! I'm fed up now. I am in a lot of pain right now so I do NOT want to try and take down anymore mercenaries or anyone of any kind. I need help, I know that but the only help I had around this place has disappeared on me. So Zip, I suggest that you shut the hell up and stop telling me what to do. You are really testing my last nerve.' Lara finished before slipping the headset back on. She smiled to herself when no one replied. Lara knew that it was horrible for her to say and that it wasn't like her but she had had enough of this and didn't feel like running about, she just wanted to crawl into a corner and cry. It was getting too much for her. But little did she know that it wasn't over yet. She was about to face a challenge that would test her through to the bone and maybe even…kill her.

_**A strange way to finish but it's late and I'm tired which means that my imagination is worn our right now. Please review.**_


	7. Pick and Mix

_**It's been a few days since I last updated because I've been debating which one of my ideas I was going to use for this chapter. Luckily, I have come up with one so I hope you like it.**_

Lara chewed at her bottom lip as she leaned into the tree. She absolutely didn't know what to do next. Raising her eyebrows, she sighed and looked up at the sky. She knew that she couldn't just wait around, it was too dangerous but she didn't know what to do, where to go or where to start.

'Lara, I think it's best that you look for the others.' Zip whispered. Lara knew from the way he was speaking that he didn't want her to blow up on them again.

'I know it's the best thing to do but I can't waste time looking for them.' Lara growled.

'Well, just to point this out, by standing there, you _are _wasting time.' Alistair told her. Lara gritted her teeth together to stop her from biting back. She needed to keep calm so that she could concentrate and think about what her next move would be. Dragging her nails down her cheek, she pulled out one of her guns and stepped out from behind the tree.

'Let's not have a repeat of your previous incident Lara.' She heard Alistair say.

'I know, let's not do that again. I'm still in pain now and I don't really fancy that being doubled.' Lara whispered as she let her eyes wonder over her surroundings.

--

'Alex, where are you?' Lara breathed as she dropped down onto the floor in one of the huts. She had been searching for ten minutes and hadn't come across Alex or Anaya and strangely…she hadn't seen _anyone_.

'Now what?' Zip asked.

'I don't know but I know that when I find Alex I'm going to ram his head into the nearest wall and then kick his ass into next week.' Lara spat.

'Take it easy Lara, you never know, he might have had to run off.' Zip hushed.

'He always was the coward.' Lara rolled her eyes. Ignoring the other comments she was receiving, Lara stepped out of the hut and looked back up at the sky. It was slowly becoming dark. Her time was now limited. Obviously it was easier to sneak about at night but finding things would be harder and there was more of a chance that she would be found again. Something she wanted to avoid this time round. Spinning on her heel she made her way back into the hut and sat on the bed. Bouncing up and down slightly, she let herself fall back. Stretching her arms above her head, she couldn't help but wish that she was back in her own bed. Closing her eyes, she breather deeply before rolling onto her side and placing her head on the pillow.

'You can't be bloody serious Lara! You can't go to sleep there.' Alistair sounded bewildered.

'What else do you suggest I do? I'm tired, in pain and I have no idea what to do next.' Lara replied.

'What about if they find you?' Alistair questioned.

'I'll just have to wing it again.' Lara put simply before rolling onto her back and looking up.

'Lara, I told you that I should have come with you.' She heard Kurtis start. Closing her eyes slipped the headset off and placed it on the floor next to the bed. Even from where she was, she could still here the boys shouting and yelling at her to put it back on. Laughing slightly, Lara slipped her boots off and then lifted her top over her head and threw it onto the floor next to her. Lara knew that what she was doing was absolutely crazy but there was no point wasting her time and energy on looking for them two or anyone else. Finally crawling up into a ball, Lara let her eyes flutter shut and let sleep claim her.

--

The sound of shuffling awoke Lara from her peaceful slumber. It took her a moment to realise where she was. She quickly pushed herself up and she slip out of the bed. Pulling on her top and slipping on her boots before placing the headset back on, Lara crept towards the door and pressed her ear up against it. She heard a few muffles before silence.

'Zip, Zip? Can you hear me?' Lara whispered into the headset. All she heard was a buzzing sound which indicated that there was no connection at the moment. Sighing, Lara knelt down as she saw shadows through the glass-less window. She then placed her hand on the door and attempted to push it open. Her eyes widened when the door didn't budge. She was locked in. Quickly crawling into one of the corners, she pulled out one of her guns and sat down.

'_Kurtis? Can you hear me?' _Lara desperately called out. Getting no answer, Lara blew a piece of stray hair out of her face.

'Now what?' She whispered to herself.

'_Lara? Is that you?' _Kurtis finally replied.

'_Yes, and I'm sort of trapped in the hut. I don't know how but they have jammed the door shut.' _Lara frowned when she heard whispering outside of the hut. Aiming her gun at the window, Lara crawled over and kneeled below it.

'_Well, there's not much I can do Lara.' _Kurtis told her in a sad voice.

'_Go back to sleep, I'll see you later, if I ever get out of this.' _Was Lara's last thought before she decided to end that conversation there. It was pretty pointless. Taking a deep breath Lara jumped to her feet, leant out of the window and aimed her gun at the two shadows outside the hut.

'Lara?' One of them gasped. She immediately recognised the voice.

'Anaya?' Lara gasped as leaped out of the window. The two figures approached her before Lara could see them clearly. It was indeed Anaya and Alex.

'Where have you been?' Lara asked them as Anaya hugged her.

'Around.' Alex shrugged.' Lara's blood began to boil.

'I told you to stay put. I was searching ages for you.' Lara growled.

'Lara relax, we had to move from our position. Too many guys were flooding into the area, they would have found us.' Alex informed her before resting a hand on her shoulder. Lara simply shrugged him off though before turning to Anaya.

'It's too late to save them now Lara, we have to get out of here.' Anaya told her, referring to the villagers.

'What? Why?' Lara raised an eyebrow at her.

'We've seen things.' Alex said as he and Anaya looked at each other.

'Like what?' Lara frowned.

'Lara, these people are being…' Anaya began but simply shook her head and looked down at the ground.

'Yes? They are being what?'

'The locals are being shoved into some sort of cave and there are bloody curdling screams coming from inside the cave and you can hear the villagers crying in pain and there was blood everywhere. Lara, we can't help them. Something is in that cave and I don't want to find out what it id first hand thank-you.' Alex told her in a serious tone. Lara closed her eyes before thinking about what Alex had just said.

'Yes, I agree. This can wait. If you say that they cannot be helped then let's go home. I can do more research there.' Lara said before sighing. It wasn't like her to pass up an opportunity like this one but her instincts were telling her that is was best to leave this place. There was nothing more that she could do.

_**A little short but that's how the chapter ends. The next one should be more interesting because we will be out of the village and back at Lara's manor. Whoop. Review please.**_


	8. Sorry

_**Guys I am SOOOOOOOO sorry but I have no idea when I will be next updating. I know it's been a while already but I have had so many things going on and everything's just hectic right now. **_

_**But I'm trying to fit my stories in but once I start writing, something comes up! Urgh! It's annoying! But I am SO sorry =( I really am trying to update but I just can't get the time right now.**_

_**I'm trying my best and I promise that I will have something soon.**_

_**Peace out!**_


	9. Tension

Guilt ran through Lara as she thought about innocent people being killed for a pointless reason. Sighing, she looked up to see the helicopter landing; ready to take them back home.

'Quickly quickly!' The pilot yelled over the noise of the propellers. Stepping up into the helicopter, Lara helped Anaya up before watching Alex jump in after her.

'Go!' Lara yelled to the pilot before taking a seat and looking down at the ground as they took off. _'This is going to be a loooong journey home.' _Lara thought before closing her eyes and thinking about the day's events.

----------

'Lara. Laaaaraaaa. LARA!' Snapping her eyes open, she was greeted by the amused face of Alex.

'Wake up sleepy head. We're home.' Alex laughed as he jumped out of the helicopter with Anaya. Rubbing her eyes, Lara nodded to the pilot before smiling and jumping out the helicopter herself. Stretching slightly, she looked around to see that she was indeed back at home.

'Wait, what about my bike back at the airport?' Lara finally asked after the helicopter had vanished from sight.

'All taken care of.' Alex smiled and gestured behind Lara. Raising an eyebrow, Lara turned on her heel to undoubtedly see her beloved Norton Streetfighter leant against the garage door.

'Alex you're a million.' Lara smiled as she walked over to the bike. _'Now to put you away.' _She thought as she lifted up the garage door and mounted her bike and began to steadily ride it in and park. Kicking on the breaks, Lara stood up and hauled her leg back over the bike. _'Safe and sound at last.´ _She thought to herself and began walking back towards the manor doors.

'Hey, erm, Lara, you sure I'm going to be welcome here?' Alex asked as he slowed his walk.

'Yes, don't worry.' Lara told him before finally pushing the doors to her home open and walking in.

'Lara!' Alistair cried out before she had even taken two steps. Smiling, Lara, swiftly stepped over to him.

'It's bloody wonderful to see you in one piece!' Alistair beamed before noticing Anaya and Alex stood behind her.

'It's great to see Anaya's okay but why did you bring this Alex guy back with you?' Alistair asked bewildered.

'Well, he's an old friend and he helped me out so I couldn't just leave him there to be killed.' Lara shrugged before stepping round to see Zip in his little office and leaning back in his chair.

'Yeah yeah yeah, what Alistair said. Great to see you're okay but about your headset, yeah, we lost connection. I was trying to contact you for hours but something was blocking the signal.' Zip informed her before noticing Anaya and almost immediately shot up from where he was sitting.

'Hello Zip.' Anaya grinned before running over to him. He swiftly took her into his arms and hugged her tight.

'Lovers.' Lara smirked before quickly grabbing Alex's arm and dragging him up the stairs.

'This,' Lara began as she opened a door that lead to a guest room, 'Is where you'll be staying.'

'Cool.' Alex nodded as he looked around the room. 'You got this place hooked up pretty good Croft.' She thanked him with a small smile.

'You make yourself comfortable and I'll send Winston up with things you'll be needing while you stay here.'

'Alright k-k-k.' And with that, Lara made her way back downstairs to find Winston. _'Then I best go find Kurtis.'_ Lara winced at the thought of having to face him. _'Well it'll happen sooner or later…' _Upon seeing Winston, she darted towards him and told him to go help Alex in his room and take up the essentials.

'Now to find Kurtis.' Lara whispered to herself before deciding to check the back gardens first. Darkness has already elapsed the sky by now as Lara looked around the dark garden for any sign of Kurtis. _'Hmm, perhaps the gym…' _ She thought to herself before turning on her heels so fast she didn't notice the person standing right behind her and bashed straight into them. Shocked, Lara looked up to see none other than Kurtis. He looked pretty pissed off as well. Before she even had chance to say anything, Kurtis was straight in there.

'What the hell was that all about in Africa with that damn Alex dude?!' Kurtis spat.

'_He _was the one who came onto _me!_' Lara fought in defence.

'Oh yes but you went along with it!' Lara knew he was right, but she _had_ pushed Alex away in the end…

They stared at each other for a few minutes before Lara sighed and looked away.

'That's what I thought, nothing to say.' Kurtis growled before quickly turning and heading back into the manor. _'Great, I'm in deep shit now.' _Lara gulped as she slowly went back into the manor herself.

_**I know it's short but the next chapter is pretty much going to be the party so I had to end the chapter here. This chapter probably sucked though because I haven't been on here for a few months but guys I promise that I will pick up again. Review please and I'll get straight to work on the next chapter. **_


	10. Actions different than thoughts

Music boomed through the Manor as Zip DJ'd Anaya's party. Unlike last time, Lara hadn't taken much part in preparing the party. Mostly Zip and Alistair had taken care of the arrangements; that for which Lara was grateful for.

Lara had counted at least 76 people already from where she was sitting in the corner. She was dressed in an elegant navy blue dress that was split up the side of her left leg and cut down the middle to her waist. To finish off the outfit, she had strapless black heels on and her hair tied up in a bun. This party wasn't as "jazzed up" as the last one. Anaya had chosen to go for a more sophisticated style to suit the change in atmosphere between everyone.

'Once again Lara thanks for much for this party. It's amazing and more than I could have asked for.' Anaya smiled softly as she approached Lara; who smiled back in reply.

'It's a pleasure Anaya. But, really, you should be thanking Zip and Alistair for all of this. They put this party together. I just…let's say…stepped back and supervised.' The two laughed together and carried on talking whilst Zip attempted to remix songs; and was failing miserably but it was great entertainment for the other guests.

'So what's going on with you and Kurtis?' Anaya asked as she spotted him sitting him in the far corner just watching the two of them. Lara avoided looking over as she answered.

'Awkward situation.' She sighed before biting her lower lip.

'Ah, after what happened with Alex?'

'Yes. I tried explaining but…the words just never came.'

'Lara, it'll be okay. You two always work things out.' Anaya smiled at her friend before placing her hand on top of hers.

'I hope you're right.' Lara smiled softly back at her before quickly glancing over at Kurtis; who was literally staring daggers at her. _'Oh if looks could kill.' _Lara thought to her before averting her eyes to the dancing guests. Deciding it was best to enjoy Anaya's party then having to spend the rest of the night feeling Kurtis's stare upon her, she quickly took hold of Anaya's hand and swiftly pulled her over to the crowd.

'Wait here!' Lara yelled over the music before making her way through the crowd of dancers and over to Zip.

'And what can I do for ya?'

'You can get down there and dance with your girlfriend. That's what you can do.' Lara smirked as she watched Zip's eyes light up even more at the idea of Anaya being called his girlfriend.

'Sure would love to do that Lara but I gotta DJ this party! Whoo!' Zip beamed as he punched the air and laughed.

'Oh don't worry. I got you covered.' Lara put simply before literally yanking him off the stand and pushing him amongst the crowd of people. Seeing Zip reach Anaya and taking her into his arms, Lara switched the music from Hardcore techno to a more Romantic slow song. Couples quickly arranged themselves and began to sway to the melody of the music. Looking through the crowd, Lara's eyes met Anaya's who quickly mouthed an 'I owe you one.' Lara shot her a smile before sighing happily and getting down off the stand. Tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear, she made her way over to the buffet table. _'Winston's really outdone himself this time.'_ Lara thought as she eyed up the food displayed in front of her. _'Nicely done.' _

Kurtis carefully watched Lara's every move. He wanted nothing more than to walk straight up to her and take him into his arms and whisper in her ear his love for her. But this incident with Alex was holding him back. _'Where is that fucking rat anyways?' _Kurtis eyed the crowd of people around the room. Alex was nowhere to be seen. Huffing, he averted his eyes back to the spot her had last seen Lara. He was a little taken back to see her staring straight back at him. She was first to break the stare and quickly looked at the floor. He saw her shoulders drop a little before she spun on her heel and made her way out of the front doors and into the front gardens. _'Don't kid yourself Croft…he's still pissed at you because of what happened.' _Lara thought grimly to herself as she walked through the gardens. The sky was already dark and the starts twinkled brightly. The warm summer breeze enveloped Lara's small frame as she hugged her arms tightly around herself as if to keep herself together. Taking a deep breath, she brushed down her dress smoothly before sitting down on the grass. Pulling her long hair out of the bun, she lay down and looked at the stars above. She somewhat regretted not being with Anaya and the other's enjoying the party…but being in the busy atmosphere was a bit to much for her now. She needed to clear her mind and get things straight about what happened with Alex and Kurtis. Lara prompted herself up onto her elbows and began recalling the past few days.

She was too caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't hear someone come up behind her.

'What you thinking about?' Lara quickly snapped outta her trance and looked over her shoulder to see Kurtis looking down at her.

'What are you doing out here?' Lara almost whispered; expecting him to yell at any second. _'You're supposed to hate me…' _

'Well, it's a beautiful night after all…and…I wanted to speak to you.' Kurtis shrugged before sitting down beside his beloved.

Crossing her legs, Lara once again wrapped her arms around herself. _'This is gonna be a loooong night.' _


End file.
